One day in July 1998, the Soviet defense minister Yazov had a chance to be met by Chairman Kim Jong Il on a visit to the DPRK.
That day the Chairman kindly invited him to be seated beside and talked with him over five hours mainly about military affairs.
Yazov was completely fascinated by the Chairman as he was well versed in not only the service or a branch of the service, but all areas ranging from military equipment up to the strategy and tactics of modern warfare.
He was extremely excited and said to the Chairman: “Respected Comrade Kim Jong Il, you are a great master of not only politics but also military affairs. I will be a disciple of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Il.”
Afterwards, he praised the Chairman in his memoirs: “Comrade Kim Jong Il, in short, he is really the ‘God’ in military affairs, too.”
